HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 29, 2014
Published: Fri, 08/29/14
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Need a Sample Management Company RFP? Look No Further
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In this week's tip, we offer suggestions for improving your process for
hiring a new management company and lead you to five sample RFPs you can use to
make your life easier. First, a few words of advice:
1. Get to know what your HOA does.
"Make sure you understand the volume of work your management brings,"
advises Jenny Key, the Austin, Texas-based vice president of RealManage,
a San Rafael, Calif., association management firm that oversees properties
in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, and Texas.
"You want to be able to say, 'Last year, we sent out 5,000 letters and
fined 200 owners.' And 'We want you to answer all calls within [a certain
amount of time].'
"You need to know those things so you can get managers to understand whether
managing your association is a lot of work or not, which allows them to price
it properly," says Key. "Some management companies will offer a price
because they want the business. Then they might come back and say, 'We didn't
realize you wanted this' or 'We didn't realize you sent this many violation
notices.'"
2. Ask the management company's philosophy.
"I wouldn't get caught up in the legal stuff like what the termination
clause provides," says Brad van Rooyen, a partner at Home Encounter, a
Tampa, Fla., company that manages 15 community associations totaling
about 3,000 owners. "Things like that can be negotiated. Look for the
philosophical questions. Is the management company a behind-the-desk or
a boots-on-the-ground company? There's a big difference. In my mind,
there are increasingly two types of firms: some are more administrative,
and others do more driving around and talking to homeowners. Phrase your
questions around the type of management you're going to receive."
Get five more tips--and five sample RFPs--in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1053.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Bidding Out Your Management Contract? Read These Seven Tips and Sample RFPs
First
Need a leg up on hiring the right management company? We've got you covered.
Here are seven tips from industry insiders and five sample RFPs you can use to
sift through the volume of information you'll need to collect on the
bidders.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Bidding-Out-Your-Management-Contract-Read-These-Seven-Tips-Sample-RFPs-First.cfm
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Florida Courts: Homeowner Association Authority to Enter Units Has Limits
In this week's tip, we discuss two Florida cases that serve as reminders to
boards that their access to owners' units is still broad, but it's not
unlimited.
In Small v. Devon Condo Association, a homeowner who'd recently been
diagnosed with a breathing disorder denied her condo association access to
conduct pest control services in her unit. She contended her doctor advised
against being near chemical pesticides. She notified the condo that she
didn't want pest control to be conducted in her unit, and the association
stopped spraying from 2005-2009. The owner says she used an alternative
form of pest control during that time.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Florida-Courts-Homeowner-Association-Authority-Enter-Units-Has-Limits.cfm
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Is a Home-Based Day Care Center a Banned Home-Based Business? Maybe?
Do you know whether your state permits your HOA to ban home-based day care
centers? In this week's tip, we discuss that very question.
In many areas, zoning rules prohibit businesses from operating out of
residential homes. But in California, that's not the case with child-care
centers. Despite what governing documents or local laws on home businesses
may be, the state's health and safety code protects home-based child-care
centers from being banned or restricted in single-family homes.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HomeBased-Day-Care-Center-Banned-HomeBased-Business-Maybe.cfm
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Five Tips for Hiring an Onsite HOA Custodian
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Our HOA has an on-site custodian who is an
employee of the association. Presently the custodian lives in the
association one-bedroom apartment with electricity and water included,
plus a monthly check in the amount of $350.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Five-Tips-for-Hiring-Onsite-HOA-Custodian.cfm
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What to Do When a Day Care Pops up in Your HOA
In many areas, zoning rules prohibit businesses from operating out of
residential homes. But in California, that's not the case with child-care
centers. Is that true in other states, too? And what does that mean in
practice for HOAs? Here are the ABCs.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Do-When-Day-Care-Pops-up-in-Your-HOA.cfm
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Anger and Apathy at Your HOA:
Best Practices to Beat These Bedeviling Issues
HOAleader.com Webinar
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
2:00-3:00 PM Eastern Time
Are angry and disruptive owners increasingly taking their toll on you,
your fellow community association board members, and your community? Are
you frustrated by the apathy among your fellow homeowners that's also all
too common? Take a deep breath and start turning those stress-inducing
challenges into worries of the past!
Join us for an in-depth webinar on September 10 led by two professionals
experienced in successfully managing anger and apathy challenges among
HOA owners--a California lawyer and a Florida community manager
who've each represented community associations for more than a decade.
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/171.htm
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